Not Alone
by justforfunstories
Summary: "You know, youse ain't the only one who went to the Refuge, Jack." Sometimes, it's just hard to keep your emotions bottled up, and so you just burst. Although, it's sometimes on the one you're closest to. Jack and Crutchie brotherly stuff.


**I'm back after a long time away. I'm really sorry about the long await for anything from me, so I decided to write this small one short just for you guys! Btw, this is Newsiefan5678, I've just changed my username.**

"You know, youse ain't the only one who went to the Refuge, Jack."

The tall, brown-haired boy searched about for the source of the sudden noise, only to have his eyes lay upon his best friend. Actually, brother.

A shorter, auburn-haired boy emerged from the darkness of the shadows, the clunks of his crutch becoming more evident with each closing step towards the brown-haired boy.

"Whadda ya mean? I ain't said nothin' about that," the brown-haired boy, Jack, retorted with a slight huff of annoyance.

"You just kinda left da rest of us sayin' what ya said. Ise thought youse were talking about the Refuge," the other boy, Crutchie, shrugged. "Ise don't wanna start a fight or nothin', Ise just wanted ta see why you said it."

Jack thought back to his exiting words from the room filled with the other newsies. ' _Well ya know, sometimes havin' mental scars from bein' whipped makes me burst!'_ The others had become strangely silent, a rarity to occur in the usually deafening environment. Crutchie had asked why Jack had arrived back at the Lodging House much later than the appropriate hour, only to result in a up burst. Jack, holding the somewhat secretive personality he has, didn't open up. He'd decided firmly that they didn't need to know _everything_ about where went all the time.

Jack also thought back to the hurt look on Crutchie's face, before hearing a yell come from Race, telling him to back off. That was when Jack had reached his limit, screaming towards both Race and Crutchie, then proceeding to stomp his way up to his 'penthouse.'

Looking up at the moon gleaming in the starry sky, Jack thoroughly regretted snapping at the two. He attempted to rid the knot constructed of guilt that tied itself inside his stomach, before turning to face Crutchie, who still held a look of hurt on his face.

"Look, I'm sorry I did that ta ya, sometimes it just gets too hard," Jack turned back away from Crutchie, resting his hands onto the cold brick wall.

Instead of replying, Crutchie slowly crept forward so he was standing next to Jack. After a few moments of silence, Crutchie spoke up softly. "Do ya wanna talk about it?"

"It's kinda hard ta explain, it's kinda like I can feel the pain again," Jack sighed before continuing. "I know it's childish, but-"

"Ise can feel it too sometimes," Crutchie interrupted, looking down in a shameful way, as though he let himself down, or was somewhat embarrassed to admit his own pain.

Jack looked over to the saddened boy, wrapping a protective arm around his sickly thin shoulders. "There ain't nothing to be ashamed of, it hurts sometimes."

"It's just Ise never been able ta say what happened, Ise forced myself to forget it, but it doesn't always work," Jack thought he saw the slightest hint of a tear in Crutchie's eyes through the glint of the yellowish moon.

"Ya can spill it now, I'll listen, Crutch."

"Did Snyder ever...did he ever drag you by your...by your leg?" Crutchie hiccuped, a lone tear making its path down the pale cheek.

Jack felt a gnawing pain of mixed emotions; anger, fear, guilt, sadness, all wrapped up into one. "N...no..." Jack stuttered, his eyes widening as big as the moon in front of them. "Was it youse bad leg?" A single, almost unnoticed nod came from Crutchie, forcing Jack's blood to boil.

No, he wouldn't blow his anger out, Snyder was locked away. For good. The only mission left was for Crutchie to know that he wasn't alone in experiencing these nightmarish memories.

Jack wrapped his other arm around the small frame, pulling Crutchie into a hug. "There ain't now way I'll let that happen again," Jack promised Crutchie, but he felt like he was promising himself more, that he was always going to be there to protect his brother. "I understand what it's like, wese can help each other through it."

Jack felt his shirt become damp, noticing that Crutchie's tears began staining the white cotton. "Ise sorry," a muffled whisper came from Crutchie's lips, making Jack strain his ears to catch it.

"What are youse sorry for?" Jack broke the hug, his hands still resting on Crutchie's shoulders.

"For...for making youse upset before...Ise was just scared..." Crutchie looked down towards the stoney ground.

"No, I'm sorry for going off at ya," Jack pulled Crutchie back into the hug. "I didn't mean ta, I shoulda known you was just askin'."

The pair of them stood rooted in their places for a moment, before Crutchie broke away from the hug, furiously wiping at his eyes. Crutchie looked up at Jack with his slightly red eyes and tear-stained cheeks before giving his award-winning smile. "Wese should go back down, it looks like it's gonna rain."

 **So there there you have it, I hope you enjoyed it.**


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